Aisle seat



Dec. 16, 19.9592 A. 1 LUCE, JR

AISLE SEAT z sHEETfsTSx-IEET 1 Filed Nov. 9, 1949 Alberi L Luce, Jr.

Dec 16, 1952 A. LUCE, JR 2,521,708

AISLE SEAT Filed Nov. 9, 1949 2 SHEETS-Smm 2 Inventor Albert L. L17/ce, Jr.

By endg/way @Mews 'provements and y 'structural `efiifi scribed, which may be co Patented Dec. 16, 1952 Aiiiil'ic its nete-sita 9, 1bn, seal' N6; naiss 1 anim. (o1. ists-as 1 This invention relates to 'a d-use`fil ifnseats., and the principal object of the in ntin to provide a device of the cha` ii dey',afnd efetively employed as an 'auxiliary seat in aisle of a bus', an importantfeature futiiinvntion residing in thevprovision of neafnsY for alitomatically folding or collapsing the A uixiliaI y at as soon as its oc'cu pantrises", s'that the auxiliary seat does not interfere with the passage of persons through the aisle.l

Although the invention is particularly adapted for use in a bus it may, of course, be also employed in any other sin'ila'r vehicle or, for that matter, in a stationary establishment such as a theatre, auditorium and thelike.

Some of the advantages, of the invention reside in its simplicity of construction, initsautomatic operation, and iii its adaptabilityl to economical manufacture" i With the above moreimportant objectsk and features in view and such other' objects and `features as may become apparent as this specication proceeds, the invention 'consists essentially of the arrangement and `construction of parts as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front levat'inalview of the invention installed iii an aisle between two conventional seats.

Figure 2 is a top vplan view of the subject shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a fragmentary rear perspective view illustrating one side of the invention.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary front perspective View of the subject shown in Figure 3, but illustrating the auxiliary seat member and back rest member in their projected positions.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view, partially broken away, showing a typical arrangement of a hinge used in the invention, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken substantially in the plane of the line 6-6 in Figure 4.

Like characters of reference are employed to designate like parts in the specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the invention consists of an auxiliary seat adapted for use in an aisle afforded between a pair of spaced, juxtaposed conventional seats I0, the aisle seat comprising a pair of complemental units I2 each of which is mounted nJQhe of die mais' seats it as wii 'b prese'rigtly' destined. ,p

`Inasmu'ch as theconstuction and operation of these two units is the saine, apart from the fact that lthe units arey yof opposite nandgj itis believed that a description of one unit will Isuifir' bath. Each of the units I2 consists 'of a seat inemte'r u and a back rest member It, them'mber I4 being provided at one 'edge thereof with a pairvof spaced brackets I8 whilecoresponding brackets arevp'rvidjed onthe' back rest ineinber '16',ass best lillusftr'ated in Figure 5. i

A shaft `20 eiitiends thiughweali pair f` the baskets AI'vaiid carries a tubular housing 22 provided in the, enjds thereof with a pair of collars A24, and av helical Asprr'ilg 26, positioned in the lfiusinjg 22 on the shaft 20, has the opposite ends thrleof anchored the collarsv 24 'as indiated at 28.

AThe housings 22 of the respective members I6, I4, are rigidly secured to the frame 'of the in an seat I0, for e'iaiiiple, the housing 'of the member I4 may bfe secured by a pair of strips 3U t the usual, substa'ntially horizontal side member 32 of the seat frame, while the housing bf the b'a'k restriiembei i6' may be rigidly secured by an I- bani 0r 'channel' 34 td the usual y"1i-ptifaidly 'and rearwardly extending side rail 3'6 f tli' =seat frame, as' shown.

In this manner the housings 22 are non-rotatable as is one of the collars 24 which is rigidly secured (by Welding or the like) to the housing while the second collar at the relatively opposite end of the housing is rotatable and is provided with a laterally projecting pin 38 (see Figure 5) bearing against the associated member I4 or I6, as the case may be. The shaft 20, of course, functions in the manner of a hinge pin, and the arrangement of the spring 26 is such that the seat forming member I4 is normally urged from a laterally projected position illustrated at 40, in an upward swinging direction to a folded or collapsed position against the end of the main seat I0, in which position an upper edge 42 of the member I4 functions as a convenient arm rest for the main seat. This is best illustrated in Figure 3, while the projected operative position of the member I4 is best illustrated in Figure 4.

Similarly, the back rest member I6 is swingable forwardly from a laterally projected position as shown at 44 to a folded or collapsed position against the end of the seat, it being noted that when the members I4, I5 are laterally projected from the two adjacent seats I0, they afford an auxiliary seat, including a back rest, in the aisle between the seats I0, as will be clearly apparent from the accompanying drawings. However, when the members I4, I6 are folded against the ends of the seats I0, the aisle remains unobstructed.

It is to be also noted that a strap 4'6 extends downwardly from the back rest member I6 and has a forwardly arcuated lower end portion, while a second strap 48 extends rearwardly from the seat member I4 and has an upwardly arcuated rear portion which is in frictional operative engagement with forwardly arcuated lower portion of the strap 46.

Accordingly, when the invention is placed in use, a prospective occupant of the auxiliary seat simply swings the seat members I4 downwardly to their projected positions during which action the straps 48, engaging the straps 46, will automatically swing the back rest members I6 rearwardly, thus rendering the auxiliary seat in readiness for occupancy. However, the weight of the occupant on the seat members I4 will retain, through the medium of the straps 48, 4B, the back rest members I6 in their operative positions until such time as the occupant rises and the springs 26 in the housings 22 of the members I4, I 6 will automatically swing these members to their folded positions against the ends of the respective seats I0.

When the back rest members I6 are swung rearwardly to their operative positions, exposed portions 4I of the straps 46 will abut the outer side edges of the channels 34 so as to limit the rearward swinging movement of the back rests. Similarly, when the seat members I4 are swung downwardly to their operative positions, edges 49 of the straps 48 will abut the rear strips 30, thus limiting downward swinging of the seat members.

It is believed that the advantages and use of the invention will be clearly apparent from the foregoing disclosure and accordingly, further description thereof at this point is deemed unnecessary.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

The combination of a supporting frame including a substantially horizontal member having front and rear ends and an upwardly extending member rigid with the rear end of the horizontal member, front and rear upstanding strips secured to the horizontal member, a horizontal hinge unit attached to the upper ends of said strips, a seat connected to said hinge unit and swingable from an operative horizontal position to an upwardly folded inoperative position, a strap secured to the underside of said seat and projecting rearwardly therefrom, said strap being engageable with the rear strip to limit downward swinging of the seat, a channel secured to said upwardly extending member, a second hinge unit secured to said channel, a back rest connected to the last-mentioned hinge unit and swingable from a laterally projected operative position to a forwardly folded inoperative position, and a tongue secured to said back rest and projecting downwardly therefrom to operatively engage said strap whereby the back rest may be swung simultaneously with said seat, said tongue being engageable with said channel to limit outward swinging of the back rest, and resilient means in said hinge units for urging the seat and the backrest to their folded positions.

ALBERT L. LUCE, J R.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 330,223 Gaylord Nov. 10, 1885 330,231 Hall et al Nov. 10, 1885 2,018,983 Van Derveer Oct. 29, 1935 2,035,452 Bell Mar. 31, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 37,174 France July 8, 1930 (1st Addition of 670,742) 818,617 France June 21, 1937 

